


Taking Risks

by maybemitch



Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: AU, Aasim Rides A Motorcycle, Alternate Universe, Are you a Watcher or a Player, Bisexual Aasim, Bisexual Character, Gun Violence, Improper Money Gaining, Louis Pursues His Dreams, M/M, Motorcycles, Nerve, Pansexual Character, Speeding, Stealing, dares, pansexual louis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2020-10-13 09:47:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20580488
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maybemitch/pseuds/maybemitch
Summary: When an online game called ‘Nerve’ takes the world by storm, Louis is somewhat disappointed with his friends which are involved in the game. However, when Clementine accuses Louis of not taking risks, he finds himself wanting to prove her wrong. And when he gets partnered up with someone, he finds himself agreeing to more challenging dares.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warning/Disclaimer: This story will contain spoilers to the movie/novel ‘Nerve’, so if you haven't watch I would recommend reading/watching it. However, you don't need too. All rights of the story go to the author of the Novel, Jeanne Ryan. This is purely for entertainment purposes. Also, this fan-fiction will include swearing. The dares which are involved in this fan-fiction you shouldn’t try at home.

"Have you even written anything?" Marlon asked as he leaned back on Louis' bed, throwing a bouncy ball up in the the air, then catching it with one hand, "Because to me, it seems like you've hit backspace quite a lot."

Louis peered over his shoulder, sending a bitter glare to his best friend before speaking to him in a informative voice, "Trying to figure out what I want to say is difficult. Besides, I don't even know if I want to go to that school anymore."

Marlon pulled himself up, inspecting the laptop, the acceptance letter to Louis' dream college illuminated the screen. Marlon took a moment to read over the words on the email, before turning his head to look at Louis properly. "Lou. This has been the school of your dreams since you were like twelve. You've been accepted into it and now you're getting cold feet?"

Louis sighed heavily, as he sunk down in his swivel chair, "We've been over this. I'm not getting cold feet. It's about me moving half way across the country to attend a school, which means leaving my friends and family behind." Louis ran a hand over his face in frustration. "And you know how my dad feels about me wanting to pursue a career in the music industry. He doesn't like it, he still expects me to wake up one morning and be all into engineering or some shit like that."

Marlon scoffed as he scooted to the end of the bed, messing up the grey bedsheets in the process. He knew that Louis' dad wasn't pleased with his son wanting to pursue a musical career. Marlon also knew that Louis' dad wouldn't even pay for the expensive of the school, despite having the money too. That's how much his dad despised the idea of his son wanting to be a professional musician.

"Why don't you put..." Marlon starts as he turned the laptop to face him, so he can more access to the keyboard. As he typed, his vocal sentence was forgotten. Louis watched as the sentence formed on the electronic screen and rolled his eyes as he gave the sentence an internal groan. Marlon pressed harshly down on the full stop as he pushed the laptop back, "There. How does that sound?"

Louis locked eyes with Marlon and then narrowed them, as he pressed down on the backspace. "That's what I think of your sentence," Louis snatched his gaze away from Marlon, looking back down at the now blank box, "I hate you at times you know."

Marlon shoved Louis' shoulder playfully, as the sound of a video called interrupted the music which was playing at low. Both boys looked at the name, their eyebrows arching up when they realised it was Violet. She was never the one to video call, so this intrigued them.

Louis was quick to accept the call, the small buffering symbol blinked on the screen before it was replaced by Violet sitting on the edge of her bed, tying up her black converse shoes. Violet heard the connection sound and looked up briefly to flash a small smile before continuing with tying her laces, "You know why I called you." Violet muttered.

Louis furrowed his eyebrows at the screen, before cocking his head to the side, "No. No, I don't, Vi. I'm not exactly a mind reader. Wish I was though."

Violet tutted in annoyance at Louis' slight sarcasm, before looking at the screen directly. "The music school dimwit. Did you accept or not?" Louis let out a small huff, with a evident forced smile on his lips, which only caused Violet to widen her eyes "Lou. Seriously? It's the school of your dreams. And yo-"

Louis crossed his arms over his chest, "And I'll be missing out if I reject it. Yeah. I've heard all that from Marlon," Louis informed the blonde with a roll of the eyes, "I don't need you telling me that. All replies have to be in by tomorrow, so technically speaking, I can reply to them at 11:59 tonight with my answer." Louis tells the girl as he unfolds his arms to snatch the bouncy ball out of Marlon's hand. "You get this back when you stop fidgeting." Louis says as he placed it in his desk draw.

Before Violet could reply or Marlon could complain, Marlon's phone ding, a signal that he had a notification. Marlon waved his hand around as he read from his phone. "Nerve, the game, is starting! I'll send you both the link, just click and watch it."

Louis blinked but did as Marlon instructed and clicked onto the link. He stared at the screen, watching as the so called game loaded up. He wasn't pleased with this so far, he didn't really like most games which Marlon played.

Louis bit down on his lips when the video began playing but then evidently stopped biting down on it, _"Welcome to Nerve, New York City. Nerve is a 24 hour game. Like truth or dare, minus the truth. Watchers pay to watch. Players play to win, cash and glory. Are you a watch or a player? Are you a watch or a player? Are you a watch or a player?" _A video played with the introduction scene, images flashed on the screen which corresponded to the words. Louis tugged at his lips as he took in the words, shaking his head slowly.

Marlon smirked as he watched his friends faces. He could sense the disapproval radiating from Louis and he could sense the amusement coming from Violet. "Huh. Huh. What do you two think? Cool right?"

Violet nods, "This is the game which Clementine is so fixated in winning isn't it?"

"Isn't this illegal?" Louis asked in confusion. It seemed illegal. It probably was illegal.

Marlon shrugged his shoulders, "Who cares if it's illegal? Everything is until someone changes their minds on it," Marlon smiles at Violet through the camera and nodded, "Yeah. This is the game which Clem wants to win."

Louis looked at Marlon disgust and shook his head, "Things are illegal for a reason you idiot. You're not playing it are you?"

Marlon scoffed and shook his head, "No. I'm paying to watch. But you..." Marlon smirked at Louis and nudged him with his elbow, "You should sign up to be a player. You can get your cash to pay for college."

Louis pulled a face at his friend, "I'm not signing up for some stupid game. I don't see the point. It wouldn't be legal money anyways."

Marlon stood up, stretching before receiving his backpack from the floor. He held a strap over his right shoulder, waiting for Louis. "We will see you at school, Vi," Marlon shouted, as he approached the bedroom door, flicking the light on and off to get Louis' attention, "Lou. Come on. If you're not out the door in five, I'm leaving which means you're walking."

Louis mumbled a bye to Violet as he disconnected the call. Slowly he spun around on his swivel chair and stood up with a frown on his lips. Reaching an arm down, he grasped the strap of his bag and slipped it onto his shoulder, then gestured Marlon to leave out the bedroom door.

Marlon smiled and slipped out from the bedroom. His walk was full of energy as he practically skipped down the stairs which caused Louis roll his eyes. _How was Marlon was full of energy first thing in the morning?_ Louis slammed his bedroom shut, the sign which read '**keep out**' shaking side to side. Louis has a gut intuition that the moment he got downstairs, his mom would try start talking to him about college, and quite frankly, he wasn't in the mood for that. Especially not after hearing Marlon and Violet yap on about it not long ago.

Therefore, the moment his sneakers hit the marble flooring of downstairs, his pace quickened as he rushed through the front door, the sound of his mother's voice filled his ears as he quickly made a beeline towards Marlon's pickup truck. His gut intuition was right. Louis was able to relax when got into the passenger side, a deep exhale slipping past his lips.

Marlon twisted the keys as he pulled his seatbelt across and buckled himself in. Marlon adjusted the air conditioning for the car, turning it on so it was hitting the face and feet, before flicking the indicator on and pulling out into the busy street.

Louis pulled his phone out from his pocket as he buckled himself up. He scrolled through the notifications, smiling at the group chat which was going off. And then smiling individual at a private notification.

Marlon casted a quick glance to his best friend out of the corner of his eyes, a smirk forming on his lips, "Smiling at your crush?" Marlon turned his gaze back the road, his hand moving up to adjust the mirror so he could keep an eye on Louis in a more careful way, "You know you should just talk to him? He's not that bad."

Louis' eyes widened as he shook his head, "Talk to him? What? No. I can't do that." Louis locked his phone and shoved it back in his jean pocket. "That's the most stupid thing i've heard you say in your life."

"James isn't a bad person," Marlon shrugged as he turned down another street, honking his horn at some kids which ran in front of him, "Maybe if you talked to him, you'd understand that."

Louis lowered his head, "I'm not speaking to James. I'll just crush from afar. That way it's easier. You know," Louis let out a sigh, "I don't have to deal with haunting rejection."

Marlon frowned at the road, before turning up the music in the car as the drove to their high school, Ericson.

—————

Marlon and Violet had to practically drag Louis away from the music room so they could attend the warm up of the big game. Louis was complaining whilst his friends dragged him, he didn't really want to show his face there. Sports wasn't really his forte. Yet, his friends held a strong argument, that they have too attended because Clementine was in the cheerleading team and she wanted them to show their faces there.

Out of the three - Violet, Louis and Marlon - Violet was the only one to sit down on the bleachers. She decided to sit by the railing, so she could still participate in the small conversation. Violet hugged her body, giving herself some warmth. She leaned on the railing, her head resting on the metal pole as she spoke to the two boys, "Can you come sit up here with me? I look like a right loner."

Marlon shook his head at Vi's question, "Louis here wants a good look at James," Marlon teased, elbowing his best friend, "Isn't that right?"

Louis blushed and buried his head in his hands. He would slap Marlon right now. He didn't want to look at James - well maybe he did but he wouldn't admit it.

"Oh my god, he does." Violet snorted, the people around her gave her the eyes, they hadn't heard her laugh like that before. If they were honest, they had never heard Violet laugh before. Violet ignored everyone around her which wasn't Louis and Marlon and spoke up again, "You do know you're totally heads over heals for him, Lou."

Louis scoffed shaking his head as Clementine approached the three, waving her phone in the sky. She unlocked it with her thumb, before shoving the phone into Marlon's hand, who passed it Louis who then handed it over to Violet.

Violet inspected the phone, frowning when she saw her face on the screen, "What do you want me to do?" She questioned

Clementine gestured to the field behind her, "I have a surprise for the end of the cheerleading. I need you to record me. It's for Nerve."

Louis rolled his eyes and leant up against the bleachers. Clementine arched her eyebrow at the musician, awaiting him to speak to her. Louis licked his lips quickly, "You're getting money from and illegal place. Nerve doesn't seem like a legal game. If you get caught, you'd most likely get a fine."

Clementine shrugged as she straightened out her cheerleading uniform, "Nerve is a legal game," Clementine defends the game, "If it wasn't then it would be live would it. Besides, it's money at the end of the day. It's better than doing a job."

Louis crossed his arms over his chest when the wind picked up, it nipping at the back of his neck. He couldn't be bothered to inform Clementine that she was wrong. The game was illegal. He watched as she turned around, running back up to her cheerleader friends.

The three teens watched the cheerleaders do their routine. All of them knew it, only because Clementine and Brody had showed it them time and time again, so they could get criticism from it.

Clementine maintain a smile throughout the cheerleading performance. Her team worked perfectly one another, each person hitting the right part in the routine. The rhyme being in sync. Clementine brushed her eyes over the camera that Violet was holding her and ended with the cartwheel

She rested her hands on her hips when she finished and took deep breaths from the workout. The student body erupted into applause, some people called out from the back. Most of the teenagers held their phones out, waiting for the dare Clementine was about to complete.

Clementine exhaled as she turned to face the score board. The dare she was given wasn't exactly hard to do, it was quite simple. Clementine counted down in her head '_Five. Four. Three. Two... One.'_

She nodded her head over to the tech kid which names she couldn't remember - she couldn't be bothered to try and remember their name either - and the scoreboard flickered out for a moment, the message which read '**GO ERICSON EAGLES**' disappeared. Everyone in the bleachers were muttering between one another, everyone just as intrigued as the next person.

Clementine smirked when the screen turned back on and it read '**CLEMENTINE SAYS FUCK MR ERICSON**'. The message constantly scrolling through due to it being long.

Louis smacked a hand over his mouth as his jaw dropped. His eyes were wide as he read the message over and over again. He knew right away that their head master wasn't impressed with the message which broadcasted across the scoreboard and that was evident when he marched down to the front of the field, screaming Clementine's name, demanding her to get to his office right away.

Violet quickly locked Clementine's phone and slammed it down on the bleacher seat when Mr Ericson turned around, inspecting the area. Violet inwardly cringed when she slammed the phone, she prayed she didn't shatter the screen. She didn't want to pay for a new screen.

"Detention?" Marlon guessed. Louis bit his lip as he listened in to Marlon and Violet talk.

Violet shook her head as she nibbled away at her nail beds, making them bleed slightly, "Its Mr Ericson. It's suspension. What's the betting?"

—————

Louis took a bite of one of his overcooked french fries as the group - Clementine, Brody, Omar, Marlon, Violet and himself - talked about the dare game. His eyes flicked between them, taking in every piece of information they were saying. He chewed slowly and swallowed before taking a sip from his his drink - which Marlon had drank most off.

"I just need the next dare to be better," Clementine sighed as she sat up in her chair trying to peer at what Brody was doing on her phone, "The last one was boring."

Brody raised her eyebrow, "They know you're afraid of heights?"

Omar nodded his head, "Of course they do. Nerve knows everything about you. It takes everything from your online pre existing profiles. Your facebook, instagram, twitter, everything. And by using that information, the watchers are allowed to give you a dare which would be challenging for you."

"They can do that?" Clementine asked, as she picked up her soda and took a sip through the paper straw, "That does answer my question on how they got my bank details. I never inputted them. I just want something which is more challenging. Can't the watchers pick up their pace with the good dares?"

Louis scoffed as he placed his cup down, "Seriously. A game taking your personal details has to be illegal, especially when you never inputted. And... You're pulling our legs right! You're going to still play that game despite being suspended because of it? Clementine, that's stupid. You're going to end up sabotaging your chances of college."

"Who cares?" Clementine asked as she dragged out her words, her hands flat on the table, "It was fun. You wouldn't know what that feels like considering you stay in your comfort zone."

Louis shook his head, "I do leave my comfort zone. Remember that time we attend Justin's halloween party last year?"

Clementine gave a disapproved look to Louis, "You showed up for ten minutes and then begged Omar to take you home." Clementine paused as she decided to changed her gaze to a sad smile, "And when Omar refused, you ended up in Justin's bedroom, playing his acoustic guitar. A party is for socialising. Not for doing what you normally do. You don't know how to take risks, do you? And you need to take a few of them once in a while. So you can actually be considered living."

Violet glared at Clementine, "Why are you attacking him?"

"I'm not attacking him."

Violet nodded her head, "Yeah. Yeah, you are."

Louis blinked at the girl and then frowned, "I do take risks!"

Clementine laughed, "Really? Alright let's stay you're playing Nerve; hypothetically. What would be a good dare for Louis?" She asked as she looked at Brody and Omar.

Brody whispered teasingly, "Make out with James."

Louis' eyes widened at the suggested dare. Why do all his friends bring up his crush on James? Omar noticed the fear in Louis' eyes and gave a different suggestion, "How we do baby steps? How about, just talk to James?"

Louis shook his head side to side, "W-what? No. That's a stupid dare."

"Come on," Clementine complained as she threw her head back in frustration, "He probably likes you too. You'll never know if you don't talk to him." Clementine lifted her head back up and pointed at everyone surrounding the table on what they think Louis should do. If he should complete the dare or not.

Clementine smirked, "Three people vote yes. Two people vote no. Which only means one thing," Clementine leaned in on the table, "Louis. Do you expect your dare of speaking to James?" Louis stumbled over his words to begin with, therefore, Clementine stuck her finger up, "All you have to do is say Hi. That's it. And then boom, dare completed."

"No. There is no point," Louis sighed as he made eye contact with Clementine, "We're graduating soon. And i don't want to say hello to him. I've never wanted to say hello to him."

Clementine rolled her eyes, "Fine. Lou, as much as I love you, I hate to inform you my friend are a watcher. Not a player. And because you're a watcher. Watch me talk to him for you."

Louis panicked. He extended an arm to grab ahold of her, but Clementine slide out of his way and over to the table which James sat at with all the other football step members. Louis could feel heat rushing to his cheeks.

Every part of Louis wanted to slide down off the booth chairs and onto the floor to hide under the table. But he knew if he did that then he would be viewed more as a coward and probably wouldn't live it down. Therefore, Louis slowly turned around, a forced pained smile on his lips as he watched.

Clementine glanced over to Louis before turning her attention James, a sickening fake smile on her lips, "Hey James. I was wondering. Do you have a partner right now?"

James raised his eyebrow at Clementine, "Urm. Clem. You're not my type. I don't like girls. I'm sor-" He stumbled.

Clementine held up her hand, "It's not for me. It's for a friend." Clementine confidently pointed a finger at Louis. James twisted in his chair, looking at the individual she pointed it. Louis waved slightly to him, his cheeks still burning. "Yeah. So, Louis?"

James frowned, bringing his finger to his mouth and shook his head, "H-he's not my type either."

Clementine jaw dropped a jar as she forcefully smacked a hand on James' shoulder, "Why are you so picky? Louis is a nice person."

"He's just not my type." James defended.

Louis knew automatically that everyone's gaze was on him. He knew that Marlon and Violet were twitching to say something to him. He knew that Brody and Omar felt guilty because they had helped with this rejection. Louis bit down on his bottom lips for a moment, before jumping to his feet, collecting his bag and dashing out of the door.

He was quick to shove in his earbuds and turn the volume to full blast, cancelling out all the shouts and pleads from his friend in the diner still. Louis' pace was fast, he was practically running away from the embarrassment which was chasing him down the street, ready to engulf him.

_How could he show his face in front of James again?_ He thought. He wouldn't be able to be in proximity as James again. Maybe if he could cleanse his mind of the events which happened he could?

Louis changed the song on his phone, a more upbeat rhyme syncing with his heartbeat. He could feel the vibrations of his phone in his hand. Text messages.

Louis decided to read the messages he received.

_From: Clem [4:08pm]_  
_Louis. I'm sorry! That was a dick move! I should have respected the fact that you didn't want to tell James. Forgive me! x _

_From Marlon [4:09pm]_  
_Bro. Just ignore Clementine. I know I joked about you speaking to him, but at least I never did it for you. Besides, you're too good for James anyways! You're too good for a supposedly jock._

_From Vi [4:09pm]_  
_Screw Clem. You know not everyone has to be a player. Being a watcher is perfectly fine. Don't let her bother you, Lou_

Louis shook his head at the attempted apology from Clementine and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Clementine can't expect him to forgive her in a split second. She basically humiliated him in front of their year group. That's going to take some time to get use to. Whenever he walks the halls at school, everyone would be watching him, most likely.

Louis shoved the thought away. He wasn't far from home. He turned a corner, walking down to the bottom of the street and fished out his front door keys from his pocket. He pulled them out and unlocked his front door.

Throwing his bag down by the door, he kicked his shoes off before running up the stairs and into his bedroom door. He slammed it shut and began to lean up it, his eyes were clenched up as he inhaled harshly.

He stood still, as if he was a statue for a moment, before opening his eyes. Louis approached his swivel chair and flopped down into it. He received the bouncy ball which was confiscated from Marlon bounced it on his bedroom floor as he opened up his laptop.

He never closed down any of his internet pages before he left, all he did was disconnect from Violet and shut the lid. Louis blinked at the page, the welcoming screen of Nerve mocked him.

'_You haven't got the guts.' _Never basically mocked to him, _'Just click watcher and be like everyone else.'_

**NERVE**   
** _WATCHER | PLAYER _ **

He stared at the screen as he moved his finger on the trackpad. He lingered over the watcher button for a moment. He could just hit this button and watch everyone have fun. He could just hide behind his phone screen and give dares to the other people participating in the game.

Louis licked his lips over as he looked over his shoulder to his bedroom door and then back to the screen. He sighed. The words of Clementine echoed in his mind about taking risks, '_And you need to take a few of them once in a while. So you can actually be considered living'. _

The words taunted him. He didn't take risks often. Clementine was right. He let out another sigh as he moved the cursor over.

"Fuck it." He mumbled, running a hand through his dreadlocks.

**PLAYER**

He clicked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning/Disclaimer: This story will contain spoilers to the movie/novel ‘Nerve’, so if you haven't watch I would recommend reading/watching it. However, you don't need too. All rights of the story go to the author of the Novel, Jeanne Ryan. This is purely for entertainment purposes. Also, this fan-fiction will include swearing. The dares which are involved in this fan-fiction you shouldn’t try at home.
> 
> Also, I have added into the tags that Aasim and Mitch were in a past relationship.

Louis’ eyes were watching the loading symbol of the game which felt as if it was taunting him. He wasn’t regretting the decision entirely: maybe a small minor part of him was. Louis did want to prove himself to Clementine, he wanted to show her that he did take risk every now and then and that he was indeed living a life, not just watching everything flicker by from his comfort zone. 

He inhaled and then held his breath for a momentarily, before realising it in shakes. Louis could feel his stomach-churning, as the loading symbol went round and round. He knew exactly what the game was doing in this agonisingly long moment; it was analysing every piece of information which was meant to be kept confidential, such as bank statements, medical bills, the things which you don’t normally talk about unless really necessary. He also knew that it was cycling through his likes and dislikes. The reason the game was doing that, it would help the watcher determine to dares which he would participate in. An invasion of privacy. Yet, he couldn't complain, he signed up to this.

Nibbling on his nails and began to think. _One dare._That's all he's going to participate in. He knew that one dare wouldn’t cause no harm. He would complete it, take the money and then back out of the game. That was the plan he had decided as he thought. It seemed flawless, as if nothing could go wrong.

He allowed his eyes to flutter shut, the loading symbol was beginning to frustrate him more and more as the seconds tick by. The hand which wasn’t allocated to his mouth being nibbled on, began to tap on the desk in a soothing rhythmic pattern. It was from a song which he knew out to play on piano, a song which he and his parents adored.

Louis jerked back in his chair when a loud electronic voice filled the room, a small piece of panic settled into him as he looked around his room, before casting his eyes to the laptop screen, "_Hello. Welcome to nerve. You have chosen player._" his eyes were so fixated towards the screen, watching the bizarre, yet intriguing introduction scene to game. He cocked his head to the side slightly, his jaw dropping, "_Nerve is a direct democracy. Watchers decide your dares._”

That caused him to rolled his eyes, he knew that the watchers decided their dares. Only because Omar gave him - alongside his group - knowledge about it. Louis still wasn't fond on that fact. But then again, he knew thats how dare games work, other people choose them for you. Arching his eyebrow, he crossed his arms over his chest, as he waited to find out more about this game.

"_The two players with the most watchers by the end of regulation will advance to the final round, where the winner takes all._" The electronic voice informed, only to get a scoff from the boy with the dreadlocks. Louis was shaking his head in disbelief at the game as he mumbled something his breath as the introduction to nerve continued, "_Watchers can watch from anywhere, but they are encouraged to film live. So don't be alarmed. There are three rules._”

Louis found himself perking up. Rules, that's exactly what he need to knows. Especially if he wants to stop after the first dare.

"_One, all dares must be filmed on the player's phone._" Louis nodded his head. The first rule was understandable and easy to get behind, if it's your dare, you need to have evidently proof you fulfilled it. Also, it would be best to see it from the darer themselves.

"_Two, there are only two ways to be eliminated. Fail or bail._" Louis began to tug at his bottom lip. If they were the only two ways out, then he would want to take the less humiliating route, yet they both seemed as bad as each other. Failing at dare would meant you didn’t succeed and bailing just makes you seem like a wimp.

"_Three, snitches get stitches. Thank you for keeping nerve a secret. Good luck, player_." The electronic voice cut out, leaving Louis is an eerie silence in his room. He blinked at the screen before beginning to process the final rule.

It sounded like a threat, which was something that raised alarms bells in Louis' head. Surely a game couldn't make rules like that, not in such a aggressive way. Louis bit down on his nail once again and then hissed out in pain when he reached the nail bed, it bleeding slightly.

He casted his eyes down to his phone which light up, the words **'ENTER ID'** was wrote in bold yellow letters at the top of his screen, with a thumb print underneath of it. Timidly picking up the phone in his right hand, he placed his thumb on the touch ID, allowing the game to also get ahold of his finger print. That means the game not only has his personal information but a type of DNA, not completely reliable, but still something.

Louis shifted his eyes back to the laptop, a question blinked on the screen.

**ARE YOU READY FOR YOUR FIRST DARE?**

**ACCEPT**

Louis huffed as he placed his phone down for a moment, bringing his hands to the laptop, his fingers delicately touching the trackpad. "Doesn't even give you a chance to decline it.” He pressed his finger down on the trackpad, accepting it. He was prepared. All depending on hard the first dare was going to be. **'PLEASE PROCEED TO JOELS DINER’**

Slowly standing up, Louis shut the lid to his laptop and swooped his phone up from the desk. He went through his contacts, hovering his finger over Marlon's name, sighing he clicked down on it. He brought the phone up to his ear, listening to the constant ringing on the line.

Marlon picked up after the fifth ring, he mumbled a few words, then the sound of the car horn went off. "Yeah?" Marlon asked, sounds of muffling came from the other side, "You're on loud speaker. Violet is here with me.”

"Perfect," Louis smiled as he look in the mirror in his room, straightening his outfit, "I need you to swing by my house and take me to Joel's diner. It's... urgent?”

"It's urgent?" Violet questions, her eyebrows knitted together in confusion on the other end of the line, "That's code for, you've done something we wouldn't like.”

Marlon kept his eyes on the road, as he changed the direction, "What have you done, Lou?”

Louis tugged at his lip as he opened his bedroom door, "So... I may or may not have signed up for Nerve. And my first dare is at the diner. I believe.”

"Are you kidding me Louis!" Violet raised her voice at the boy on the other end of the phone, she shook her head as her fist balled up, "Don't tell me you let Clementine's words get to you. Because Louis, that's stupid. Im so slapping you when you get in the car.”

Louis shook his head, despite the fact the two couldn't see him, "I didn't let Clementine's words get to me. I... I just want to prove to people that I do take risks. I'm doing one dare. That's it.”

Marlon turned down Louis' street, "One dare. That's it. Then you bail," Marlon sighed as he parked his car in the drive way at Louis', "Here. Get your ass into the car now.”

—————

The door to Joel's diner chimed, the person behind the counter sent a smile towards the three teenagers who were huddled close together. Louis kept his eyes fixated towards his phone, as he waited for the dare to pop up on his screen. Violet was the one which returned the smile, even if it was force. She didn’t like the person which was behind the counter, she didn’t like much.

"Can we get a milkshake?" Marlon asked as he noticed a deal on the wall, "I could kill for a milkshake.”

Violet slapped Marlon hard, "We are not here for you cravings. We are here for support for Louis. What's the dare Lou?”

Louis felt his heart race when he read over it. There is no way he could go through with it. He tilted his phone slightly, allowing Violet to know what he had to do. Her eyes widened, as she looked between the area and then to Louis.

**DARE ONE**

**KISS A STRANGER FOR FIVE SECONDS - $100**

Louis shook his head, "I-I can't do that." He bit his bottom lip, his heart was still racing, "Kiss a stranger?" Some of the people around in the diner, turned to look at Louis is disgust. Louis ignored the disgusted stares from everyone. He wasn't going to kiss them anyways, so they were safe.

Violet rubbed Louis' upper arms. She could sense the nerves radiating off him, after all, she was one of his best friends, she knew him better than anyone, maybe not better than Marlon, but a close second. Violet frowned, "Kiss someone which looks like they would understand. You could always apologise after.”

Louis nodded his head slowly. Violet was right. She was always right. He could always apologise after kissing them. He let out a shaky breath, "Yeah, but who could I kiss?”

Violet looked around the room - Marlon did also. The blonde headed girl looked at the old man which sat at the gambler machine, a beer can at his side and crumbs scattered in his beard, her face twisted into disgusted when they burped and didn't apologise for it. That person was a definite no.

Marlon raised an eyebrow at a women which sat in one of the booths, he pointed a finger discreetly at them. Louis raised his eyebrow as he took a small step towards the table, but then slowly backed away when he noticed a boy sitting opposite to her. He wasn't going to kiss someone if they were on a date with someone. That would be wrong in so many different levels.

The trio moved further into the diner, all hopes being lost, until Violet abruptly grabbed ahold of Louis' shoulder and shook it, "Them." She said excitedly, a genuine smile on her lips. "They're reading _The Great Gatsby._ You love that book.”

Louis grinned and nodded his head - it was easy as that - as he looked down to his phone, a notification from Nerve popped up saying '**HURRY UP!**’.

"Here," Louis handed his phone over to Marlon, "The dare needs to be filmed from the players phone," Louis wiped his hands on his jeans, "Just shout five when i'm finished.”

Marlon and Violet nodded as they quickly sat down in a booth, five down from where the mysterious person behind the book sat. Louis found his feet shuffling over to the table, his fingers playing together as he tried to think about what he should say.

Louis knew he couldn't straight up and ask them if they wanted to kiss him. Louis didn't even know if they liked men, so this whole situation could be awkward.

He stopped at the table, running a hand through his dreads and cleared his throat. The person dropped the book down slightly, showing his face slightly to Louis and gave a welcoming smile.

"Hi?" He spoke, as he moved the book down from his face completely, he began to close the book, his finger in the page they got too, "How can I help you?”

Louis let out a shaky breath. _Holy shit_. Their voice was soothing, Louis found himself leaning slightly, he could listen to their voice all night if he got the chance too. Yet, unfortunately, that wasn’t an option on the table, if it was he would cease it instantaneously.

Louis licked his lips as he pointed to the book, "I-I couldn't help but notice you're reading my favourite book," he paused as he made eye contact with him. Louis felt his cheeks heat up, "And I want to know how you're finding it. I'm Louis by the way.”

They chuckled, "Hi Louis. I'm Aasim," he smiled softly to the male, before flicking his gaze down to the book in his hold, "The Great Gatsby? I've read it before. An all time fave, if you want me to be honest." Aasim looked Louis up and down, before asking a question to him, "So, Louis. To you, what's the most important theme in this book?”

Louis grinned as he took a seat besides Aasim, hoping his wasn't over stepping any boundaries. Louis thought for a moment, before snapping his fingers together, making Aasim jump slightly, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you. But I would say love.”

Aasim arched an eyebrow, "You would say it's love? Do tell me why you think that then, Louis.”

Louis gulped, "Simple. Jay Gatsby loves Daisy. And the love which he holds for her, drives him to gain his wealth. And with that said wealth, his throws phenomenal parties in the hopes that Daisy would show up to them as she lived directly across the sound. Then, there is also the theory that Nick Caraway was in love with Gatsby himself…”

Aasim found himself smiling as he watched Louis speak on about the book which was his favourite. Louis must have sat for hours, rereading the book to know the plot in depth, considering he was explaining it well, without spoiling it.

The two boys made eye contact, which resulted in Louis losing his train of thought of the book. He tore his eyes away from Aasim, and began to look around the room. His eyes noticed Marlon and Violet waving their hands at him, desperate to speed things ups.

_Shit. The dare. Louis thought, how could he forget?_

Louis gave a tight lipped smile to Aasim as he fiddled with his own hands. Aasim is probably going to hate him after this. Louis swallowed the lump which formed in his throat as he made eye contact with Aasim. _Now or never._

Louis blew out some air as he scooted more into the booth, he moved his hands abruptly, grasping onto Aasim’s plaid jacket, tugging the male much closer to him.

Aasim was confused, yet let out a gasp when he felt Louis' lips on his, his eyes fluttering shut automatically. He was in a state of shock to begin with, not daring to respond, yet after a moment or two, his hands slide up Louis' and began to clench onto the padded shoulders of his trench coat as he kissed him back in the same passion Louis was kissing him: needing.

Marlon and Violet gagged as they watched their friend make out with some stranger, they couldn't wait until they get to persistently joke about this moment with him. The timer on the phone hit zero, Violet raised an eyebrow at the two boys a few tables down who were still kissing one another. Clearing her throat she shouted, “Five."

"Five!" Marlon joined in, watching as Louis awkwardly pulled away from the person he was kissing.

Louis felt his cheeks heat up as he looked as Aasim, his bottom lips pulled between his teeth. Aasim gave Louis a timid smile. Neither of the two boys knew what to say to each other.

Louis moved a hand to the back of his neck, rubbing it, "I'm... I have to go? I'll see you around..." He cringed at the words, he didn't know if Aasim wanted to see him again, "Or not.”

Louis stood up and left to the table his friends sat at.

Frustrated, Aasim ran a hand through his hair. He was trying to grasp the fact he had made out with a complete stranger in a diner he was a regular at. He wouldn't live this down. His phone vibrated, causing him to awkwardly stand at the table - which only meant lifting up slightly to gain access to his right tight pocket. Unlocking the phone, he groaned.

"You've got to be kidding me?" He asked to no one in particular as he pressed the button on the right side of the screen. Slowly sliding out the booth, he began making his way down to the jukebox.

When Louis arrived at the booth his friends sat at, he practically threw himself into the corner and buried his head into his hand, shielding his heated cheeks. Louis knew Marlon and Violet were smirking at him, knowing that the moment he lifted his head up the teasing would start and would probably never die down. Best friends.

Yet at that moment in time, Louis didn't care about his friends. His mind was so drawn to Aasim and the way his lips were soft against his, the way he so desperately wanted to keep kissing him. Louis would be lying to himself if he said he didn't enjoy the kiss. Louis just hoped that Aasim enjoyed the kiss too. He knew he kissed back, but that could have been from shock. Or because Aasim didn't want it to be awkward. Louis sighed, he was overthinking everything.

"Did you get it?" Louis asked, yet his words came out in a muffle due to his hidden face.

Marlon raised an eyebrow at his friend, "I'm sorry. What did you say?”

Louis lifted his head up slightly from his hands, his face showed signs of embarrassment and annoyance "I said. Did you get it?”

Violet frowned, "You know, we didn't. We ended up going through your pictures," Louis' eyes widened in disbelief at his friends. Going through his pictures was totally fine with him, he has nothing to hide, but it was the fact they did it when he was doing a dare. Violet snorted shaking her head as she slide the phone back over to him, "I'm messing with you, doofus. Of course we got it.”

"I seriously hate you both at times." Louis groaned as he looked at his phone screen, when the nerve notification went off, "$100 has been wired to your account," he lifted his eyes up to look at his friends, "Should I check?”

Nodding his head, Marlon spoke, "You should check which account it's gone into. Yours or your joint.”

"Isn't the joint one connected with both the parents?" Violet asked as Louis nodded his head in confirmation. “Won’t you get in trouble?”

Louis shrugged his shoulder as he looked away from his phone, “If it ends up in that one, I’ll play it off as a glitch in the system. Then ill transfer it to my account.”

The sound of the money dropping to the jukebox made everyone tilt their heads slightly. Most wanted to know what the person was putting on. Yet the trio didn't bother turning to see what the person was doing, they were all expecting an old lady to put some Elvis Presley on.

Louis moved down to the end of the table, looking down the small walk way to where Aasim was once sitting. He frowned once he noticed the male was missing. "Where has he gone?”

Marlon chuckled and teased his friend, "Probably to wash out his mouth out from kissing you. I would have also.”

Louis glared, "Screw you.”

_Put your head on my shoulder,_

_Hold me in your arms, baby,_

_Squeeze me oh-so-tight,_

_Show me that you love too,_

Marlon, Violet and Louis' eyes widened as they heard someone start singing in the diner. The voice was oddly familiar in some ways, yet Louis bit down on his bottom lip an thought for a moment. Louis eyes light up when he pinpoint the voice, it was Aasim’s. He was hypnotised by that voice a few minutes ago. Louis licked his lips over as he peeked over the wall at the booth, only to witness Aasim dancing as he sung.

"What's he's doing?" Louis whispered to his friends, his eyes not shifting from Aasim.

_Put your lips next to mind dear,_

_Won't you kiss me once, baby?_

_Just a kiss goodnight, maybe,_

_You and I will fall in love,_

Louis watched as Aasim approached a table, smiling down at one of the people which held the phone. Aasim was forcing a smile on his lips as he did this, but he still went forwards with it. It was obvious Aasim was uncomfortable.

"He's singing one of your favourite songs." Violet pointed out with a smirk on her lips as she realised Louis was staring at Aasim.

Louis scoffed, "Yeah. Great observation Vi.”

"He's singing to you." The blonde girl teased, as she nudged Louis' leg with her foot.

Marlon turned his head slightly, realising that someone was following him with a phone, "No. It's a dare," he pointed a thumb behind him as Louis and Violet turn to him, "He's fulfilling a dare.”

_A game you just can't win,_

_If there's a way,_

_I'll find it somebody,_

_And then this fool with rush in,_

_Put your head on my shoulder,_

_Whisper in my ear, baby,_

_Words I want to hear,_

_Tell me, tell me that you love me too_

Louis found himself turning to watch Aasim, a smile never once leaving his lips. With each sentence Aasim sung, he got closer and closer down to their table. His heart was racing when Aasim sent his a warm smile.

Louis bit down on his bottom lip as he smiled, waving slightly. He could sense the judgemental states coming from his friends but, he didn't really care right now. His main care right now was that Aasim was singing. His favourite song and was heading right towards him.

_Put your head on my shoulder,_

_Whisper in my ear, baby,_

_Words I want to hear, baby,_

Aasim locked eyes with Louis as he stood before his table, his lips twitching up into a smile, "Put your head on my shoulder." He finished.

The people which were eating at Joel's diner broke out into applause, congratulating him on his performance. Aasim felt his cheeks heat up as he slide into the booth besides Louis, bumping his knee against his. A waitress handed his phone back over and gave him a smile.

"So," Louis spoke quietly, "You completed your dare.”

Aasim pulled a face as he slowly nodded, waving his phone slightly, "Yeah. Yeah I did. You did too.”

Louis gulped, "Y-yeah. I did too. Sorry about that. You know, kissing you out the blue.”

Aasim looked at the two people in front of him, sending them a smile, before turning back to Louis, "It's fine. You had to complete a dare, I completely understand. I would have done the same.”

Louis stared. He couldn't find the words to continue on the conversation between them going, he wanted too, but he just couldn't bring himself to do so. Aasim noticed the silence coming from the table and lowered his head. He didn't feel welcome.

Louis' phone vibrate on the table, his brown eyes shifted down to his phone as he picked it up, reading the next dare. Aasim also got a notification and look at the screen at the same time as Louis, being in sync.

**DARE TWO**

**GO TO THE CITY WITH HIM - $200**

Violet frowned as she snatched the phone out of Louis' hand to read what was on his screen. She shook her head at it before glaring at Louis, "One dare. That's all you said. You're not doing no more.”

Marlon sighed, "Louis. You said you're bailing after one.”

Both, Marlon and Violet were against the idea of Louis continuing and it was obvious in the way they were acting.

Aasim raised on eyebrow, "It's up to Louis on whether or not he completes another dare? He's the one which signed up to the game.”

Louis shook his head at Aasim and cleared his throat, "I promised them that I would only do one dare. I signed up spontaneously. They didn't want me to be involved with this game.”

Aasim nodded as he decided to stand up, he gave a briefly nod to the two others, then looked back to Louis, in plead but also respect, "Well. If you decide to change your mind, I'll be in the garage for another 10 minutes. Come find me.”

—————

Whilst the three teenagers - Louis, Marlon and Violet - argued it out on whether or not Louis would continue on with the game, Aasim sat on his motorbike, his helmet resting on his knee, whilst a spare hanged from the handles. Aasim attention was drawn to the keys which dangled from his index finger, the small hand carven wooden koala the thing sticking out.

Every time his gaze locked onto it, his heart practically skipped a beat. Despite it being a sloppy carve, it still held a lot of sentimental value behind it, he couldn't bring himself of ridding his keys of it. He reached his other hand forwards, pinching it between his index finger and thumb, and brought it up to his face to inspect it closely. A smile pushed itself to his lips.

_"Close your eyes and hold out your hand." Mitch demanded as he tapped his foot rapidly on the snowy floor, in a waiting manner. Mitch's eyebrow arched when Aasim refused to do as he was told, "Sim. Please. Just for a few seconds? I promise it's nothing bad.”_

_Huffing - his warm breath visible in the night sky - Aasim reluctantly closed his eyes, his hand was held flat out in front of him, as he did what he was told to do. "Why do I need to do this?”_

_Mitch chuckled to himself as he shoved a hand into his back pocket, fishing for something. Mitch watched Aasim, ensuring that he didn't try and cheat by opening his eyes. He hoped that Aasim would like what he was about to give to him, he liked it himself, yet their type in things were different sometimes, scratch that, a lot of the times._

_As Mitch fished the item from his back pocket, he gave it a quick glance over, as Aasim whined for him to hurry up so he could reopen his eyes. The item was a small carven Koala keychain, something Mitch had spent hours - maybe even a day or two - on doing. The wooden Koala hugged onto something - Mitch didn't have time to put in details, yet if he had, then the thing would have been a tree trunk._

_Mitch let out the breath he was holding and dropped the keychain into Aasim's hand and balled his boyfriends fist. He patted it gently and began to speak, "Before you open your eyes and take a look, just remember, romantic gesture aren't really my strong suit. But just bare in mind that I'm trying my best for you, okay?”_

_Aasim nodded his head, his balled fist squeezing the unknown object in his hand, "I know. I know you're trying your best. And thats all I want from you," Aasim paused as he wetted his lips, "You know that I'm not expecting you to change. I love you the way you are.”_

_Mitch fought a blush which was trying to over take his cheeks and slowly shook his head from left to right, "You can take a look at it now.”_

_Aasim opened one of his eyes slightly, taking in Mitch which had his arms crossed over his chest and a look on his face which told him to 'carry on'. Therefore, Aasim opened his other eye and looked down to his balled fist in excitement. Surprises weren't his favourite things in the world, but it If was coming from Mitch, then it's a different story._

_"The suspense is killing me Aasim," Mitch teased, "Open your hand and take a look at it already.”_

_Aasim rolled his eyes at Mitch's impatience and opened his hand. At first he was in a state of confusion to see a piece of wood connected to a metal key chain in the palm of his hand, but as he wobbled his hand and the wood moved, he realised it was something more._

_Gently pinching it, he took a closer look. He automatically recognised the Koala design, an inside joke between him and Mitch. He couldn't believe Mitch put in the time and effort to carve him something special and so unique._

_However, due to Aasim's silence, Mitch took it the wrong way and began to panic internally. In nerves, his forehead began to mat with a glistening sheet of panic sweat, his palms sticky. Slowly, he swallowed the lump which formed in his throat and spoke up, "You don't like it do you? I mean it is a shit present to give you on our one year anniversary. I'm sorry. I can get you something else if you want? W-why are you laughing at me?”_

_Aasim was sniggering at Mitch's panicking as he advanced closer to him. "I'm laughing at you because you don't think I like what you got me.”_

_Mitch sighed as he cocked his head to the side, "So... you do like it? Because if you're honest with me, I can get you something else. You'll probably have to wait a while till I get my pay check but I will.”_

_Aasim shook his head, "I love it," he slipped his hand into Mitch's front jacket pocket and took out his keys so he could loop the key chain on. He smiled down at the wooden koala next to the shining metal keys, it looks perfect. "It's perfect. Honestly, it is.”_

_Mitch smiled as he pulled Aasim in for a hug. Aasim's head rested where Mitch's heart was, the sound of it thumping made Aasim smile. Mitch was actually nervous about his reaction. Mitch held Aasim close, a part of him not wanting to let him go, wanting to stay in this moment for a while long - he wanted to stay forever but he knew that was a tad extreme._

_"You know something, Mitch?" Aasim whispered against Mitch's chest._

_Mitch shook his head, "I don't know. Enlighten me.”_

_"I would take your carvings over something brought at the shops," Aasim admitted, as he tightened his grip on Mitch's blue jacket, "It's one of a kind. I know no one else in the world is going to have it. And even if you try and replicate it, it wouldn't be exactly the same.”_

_Mitch chuckled, "I suppose you're right. So what did you get me for our one year?”_

_Aasim pulled away, "Well about that…"_

_Mitch gasped, playfully hitting Aasim's shoulder, "You didn't forget did you? I thought I was the most likely one to forget our anniversary.”_

_Aasim scoffed and shook his head, "Of course I didn't forget idiot. It's just that mine isn't as creative as yours," Aasim pauses to shrugging, "It's just, I brought you something which would basically benefit the both of us?”_

_Mitch raised an eyebrow waiting for Aasim to continue, Aasim sighed, "I brought an extra helmet. You know the one you was looking at? The red one with the white sticker on the side? I brought you that. Because you've been driving without a helmet for the past few weeks and it's been making me nervous.”_

_Mitch smiled softly to Aasim, "I would have gotten round to buying another eventually. But thank you, I love that you got one for me.”_

_Aasim nods his head slightly, "I did it because I want you safe when we ride together and because I love you.”_

_"I love you too.”_

Aasim ran a finger over the sharp edges of the Koala, he couldn't bring himself of removing it from his keys, despite the fact he and Mitch were no longer together. He gave the carving a sad smile, before letting a sigh out.

Aasim just sat in silence, he knew that he had been waiting for Louis for well over 10 minutes now and by the looks of it, Louis had decided to bail. Part of Aasim hoped that Louis would join him down in the garage, that Louis would join him on the dare to the city. It would have been funny, besides that's where the exciting dares take place.

Huffing, he twisted the keys of the motorbike, the sound of the bikes engine vroomed and the headlight turned on, revealing someone standing in the shadows. Aasim jumped back at them and glared.

"How long have you been there?" He asked as the person took steps forwards, revealing themselves to be Louis, "Have you come to tell me you're bailing?”

Louis shook his head and he took steps towards Aasim, beginning to explain, ”I'm not a good partner. If you want a good partner you should team up with my friend Clementine. She is down to do anything. I-I’ll just screw this up for you.”

Aasim shook his head, in disagreement, ”You seem like you're a good partner. You shouldn't get yourself down about it Louis. You never know, you might be better than her. I bet you’re better than her. You did make out with a random stranger, would she do that?”

Louis gave Aasim a sad smile, “You don’t know Clem. Trust me. She would have made out with a stranger also. She hasn’t got a fear really, dying maybe? But everyone is scare of that, maybe.” Louis paused and groaned in realisation that he was rambling on about something Aasim didn’t need to know about. He sighed, waving his hands at his sides slightly, “And, I know I'm not a good partner. So if you want to team up with her, I can give her a call.”

Aasim bit down on his bottom lip, before picking up the spare helmet and held it out for Louis, "No offence to your friend Clementine, but I don't want to team up with her.”

Aasim tossed the helmet over to Louis when he realised the boy wasn't going to take it. Louis caught it, his phone clattering down on the cement. Cringing, Aasim watched as Louis grabbed his phone, and tilted it to him, revealing that it was fine.

"The watchers. They want me to team up with you. And quite frankly I want to team up with you also.” Aasim arches an eyebrow as Louis stared down wonderingly to the helmet, "So what do you say? You going to accept the dare and come to the city with me?”

Louis closed his eyes for a moment and slowly bobbed his head, "Yeah." He whispered as he put the helmet on timidly.

Aasim grinned as he watched Louis approach the bike. He was glad that Louis would be joining him, an adventure to the city is always better with two people. Aasim tightened his hands on the bars when he felt Louis sit behind him. Aasim knew that the two were different heights, however, that didn’t bother him when it came to riding his bike.

Aasim moved his hands on the handle bars and revved the bikes engine once, he removed a hand briefly as he fixed his helmet - mainly bringing down to visor. He hesitated for a moment as he held his hand out for Louis’ phone, the taller male handed it over and watched over Aasim’s shoulder as he fixed it to the front of the bike, securely.

“You know how to drive this thing right?” Louis asked as he clipped his helmet into place, the strap resting under his chin, he didn’t have one like Aasim’s.

Aasim scoffed, as he grabbed ahold of Louis’ arms and wrapped them around his waist so they could ride, “I can drive this _thing._ Yes,” he tapped Louis hands which were resting in the mid of his chest clasped, “Just hold one tight, okay?”

Louis nodded his head as he tightened his grip on Aasim already despite them being stationary. Aasim just found himself grinning at he clicked down on the '**ACCEPT'** button.


End file.
